Parent councils

As a parent/carer for a child or young person, you are automatically a member of the parent forum for your child or young person's school

What is a parent council?

The parent forum (all parents including you) can choose to set up a parent council to:

  • support the school in its work with pupils and parents
  • represent the views of parents
  • promote contact between the school, parents, pupils, providers of nursery education and the community
  • report back to the parent forum

How are parent councils formed?

Every school is different, so you can have a say in how you want your parent council to represent you. In smaller schools, all parents may join the parent council, in larger schools, parents may have to be voted onto the parent council. Sometimes schools have more than one parent group, where one focusses on fundraising and the other on school improvement.

Parent council reports

The parent council must report back to all parents on what it is doing at least once a year.

Organising social and fundraising events

Most parent councils are also involved in fundraising and organising social activities. In some schools there may be a separate fundraising group that reports into the parent council. This allows the fundraising group to take advantage of the public liability insurance policy which is provided through our group membership of the Scottish Parent Teacher Council.

How can I get involved?

All parent council meetings are open to members of the parent forum for that school, and many are open to the public. To find out more about your school's parent council, contact your child's school.